Culture:

Date:

Medium:

Dimensions:

Markings:

Markings: (Recto) collection marks of Count Moriz von Fries (L. 2903) at the upper right, the marquis de Lagoy (L. 1710) at the lower right, Aimé-Charles-Horace His de la Salle (L. 1333) at the lower center and Edward J. Poynter (L. 874) at the lower left.

Inscriptions:

Inscription: (Recto) inscribed by the artist, in brown ink: at upper left "hypocrateridium...passa" and "testa di bour"; at the right, "torques"; at the middle left, "in villa Julia"; at the lower left, "putto" and "bulla con la trabea".
Secondary Inscription: (Verso) on the mount, inscribed "a.65" in brown ink.

Department:

Drawings

Classification:

Drawings

Object Type:

Drawing

Object Number:

86.GA.467

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Given his lifelong interest in classicalantiquity, Nicholas Poussin repeatedly sketched the antique objects he saw in Rome. Except for the Etruscan mirror in the top right, which dates from the 200s A.D., each object on this sheet is Roman, from various ancient eras.

The careful study of the hexagonal tripod base, with its spare lines and precise details, hints at Poussin's adherence to the ancient classical conventions of architectural perspective. He executed the draped torso and the sandaled foot with a similarly spare technique and attention to structure. He might have sketched the mirror from life, as it may have been in a Roman nobleman's collection, and he probably sketched the tripod in the upper left corner after a drawing in another collector's "Paper Museum." Finally, hen sketched the figure of the young boy after a late Roman bust now in an English country house, capturing his bulla, a protective amulet worn by Roman children, with just a few tight lines and light brushes of wash.

The verso presents more disparate objects: two sphinxes, a woman carrying a vase, and an elaborate ornamental Roman ceiling frieze.

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